MANIAC | SEOKSOO FF ✔️

PART 09

Just as the clock struck midnight, Jisoo's phone vibrated, the sudden noise cutting through the silence like a knife. His eyes, heavy from exhaustion, snapped open, dread instantly coiling in his stomach.

He picked up his phone, hands trembling as he read the message.

×××××××
Congrats on graduation, Bluebell. Six years ago today, you graduated high school. Remember that?
I do.
Funny how time flies, isn’t it?

Jisoo felt a chill spread through his veins. His high school graduation—the day had been ordinary, even unremarkable, lost in the haze of his youth. How could anyone know that? Why would they care?

His heart raced as he scanned the empty room, every shadow deepening, every creak magnifying the silence around him. He took a shaky breath, a sinking feeling in his gut as the realization set in: whoever this was, they didn’t just know him now. They had been watching him for years.

The phone buzzed again.

×××××××
I remember what you were wearing that day, Bluebell. Navy blazer, striped tie. You looked so proud, so ready to face the world.
I wonder if you’d be so brave now.

Jisoo’s breath hitched. He hadn’t worn that blazer in years, yet the memory was now like a vivid snapshot—clearer than he wanted it to be.

Why? Why now? he thought, his pulse pounding in his ears.

Another message came through, the words as sharp as a blade.

×××××××
Can you feel it yet, Bluebell?
That creeping feeling, that sliver of doubt?
Go on, check your door. See if I left you something… special.
You are looking mouthwatering in those grey pajamas.

Jisoo’s heart froze. He sat paralyzed, staring at the door, the thought of opening it filling him with a dread he’d never known before. His hand moved instinctively to lock it, his fingers trembling.

As he pressed his back against the wall, his phone buzzed one last time.

×××××××
Sleep well, Bluebell. I’ll be closer than ever… watching.

He could almost feel the eyes on him, lurking, waiting.

Jisoo’s gaze fell on the coffee table, his heart pounding as he approached the small, dark box that hadn’t been there before.

The black wrapping paper looked almost too neat, the two small blue bells attached on it, as if someone had spent careful time making it look enticing.

But Jisoo knew better. He could feel the threat seeping from it.

His fingers hesitated before untying the red ribbon, his mind flashing back to that last message.

×××××××
A gift from me to my Bluebell …
Open it...

He peeled away the paper, revealing an old, worn music player inside. His breath caught.

He recognized it instantly—the scratches on the screen, the small sticker he’d stuck on the back.

It was his, a relic from years ago.

This music player had been lost on a school field trip in high school, never seen again.

And now, here it was, in his living room, like a twisted echo from his past.

Jisoo swallowed hard, feeling a rush of memories and confusion. He hadn’t thought about this music player in years—had almost forgotten it existed.

But someone hadn’t.

Hands trembling, he pressed the play button, and immediately, an old song filled the silence.

The one he’d listened to on that very trip, his favorite tune at the time.

It sounded warped now, eerie, as if tainted by the years and by whoever had taken it from him.

His phone buzzed, jerking him from his thoughts.

×××××××
I thought you might want a little piece of your past back. Funny how time changes things, don’t you think? Keep it safe… until next time.

Jisoo’s skin crawled. Whoever this was, they weren’t just watching him now—they’d been watching him for years, collecting pieces of his life, his memories.

The very thought made him feel violated, like his past had been turned into some twisted trophy collection.

The music continued to play, hauntingly familiar yet terrifying in this new context.

He couldn’t bear to listen anymore and switched it off, but the silence that followed was somehow worse.

He backed away from the coffee table, the room feeling colder, smaller, as if the walls were closing in.

The message was clear: he was being toyed with, each “gift” a carefully crafted reminder of how close, how intimate this stranger had been with his life.

And, as he stared at the music player, Jisoo couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.

So what you think about this till now.. it's my first time writing such stuffs...